CAGW Names Sen. Al Franken March 2017 Porker of the Month

March 24, 2017 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named
Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) its March 2017 Porker of the Month for his
absurd defense of the bureaucratic takeover of the internet.

There has been a substantial amount of misinformation about so-called
net neutrality over the past decade. For starters, it’s not neutral. The
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reclassified
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) under antiquated provisions of Title
II of the 1934 Communications Act, which allowed the agency to regulate
ISPs as if they were rotary phone companies. Further confusing the
public, the FCC name for the mandate when it was pushed through on
February 26, 2015, was the Open Internet Order (OIO). Placing ancient
government standards onto a modern communications platform stymies
innovation and free speech.

Sen. Franken has been a leading proponent of these regulations during
his tenure in the Senate. Soon after new FCC Chairman Ajit Pai signaled
his intention to repeal these bygone regulations, Sen. Franken seemed to
revert to his prior career as a comedian. He laughingly mused
that a repeal of net neutrality constituted
a threat to “the basic principles of our democracy,” and that it was
“the free speech issue of our time.” Sen. Franken’s flawed assertion
that ISPs would attempt to unfairly stifle internet speeds is both
unfounded and nonexistent. Indeed, the lack of bureaucratic interference
allowed the internet to thrive and consumers to prosper.

CAGW President Tom Schatz said, “Sen. Franken’s preposterous defense of
draconian regulation of the internet is perhaps the greatest joke he’s
ever told. Net neutrality has always been a solution in search of a
problem. It was intended to expand the FCC’s ability to dictate anything
and everything that happens online. Consumers are best served by an
internet that is free from the domineering hand of bureaucrats, which is
something Sen. Franken would do well to realize.”

For invoking ridiculous hyperbole to defend the bureaucratic takeover of
the internet, CAGW names Sen. Al Franken its March 2017 Porker of the
Month.

Citizens
Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization
dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in
government. Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers,
government officials, and political candidates who have shown a blatant
disregard for the interests of taxpayers.

Contacts

CAGWCurtis Kalin, 202-467-5318

Release Summary

Today, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) its March 2017 Porker of the Month for his absurd defense of the bureaucratic takeover of the internet.